If two-time Leopold is to sneak its way into the GFNL finals, it will have to do it without recruit Harry Hawker.
Hawker, who was the subject of one of the off-season’s quirkiest recruiting stories, requires surgery after suffering a broken elbow in Saturday’s loss to St Joseph’s at Drew Oval.
It was just the fifth senior appearance for Hawker, who had provided the Polders with another marking target up forward in the absence of Max Annandale.
“(He is) flat naturally, but (in) pretty good spirits,” Leopold football boss Hamish Easton said.
He can’t wait to get back over here post-surgery and do his recovery.
“He’s at Marcus Oldham (College), so he’s got some uni stuff to do.
“He’s got some talent. We’d love him to get a free run at it.”
While Hawker won’t be seen again in 2025, premiership duo Luke Justin and Jet Matthews are a chance to return.
Justin hasn’t played since Round 2 after suffering a serious groin injury, while Matthews suffered a shoulder injury in the loss to Bell Park in Round 10.
“There’s potentially an opportunity where he might play against North Shore,” Easton said of Matthews.
“He’s got to tick some boxes. He’s opted not for surgery because there was actually no sort of timeframe that was going to be better if he had the surgery or no surgery.
“So he’s elected not to have the surgery.”
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Meanwhile, captain Marcus Thompson has committed for the 2025 season, starting what is expected to be several signing announcements out of Memorial Park.
“Outstanding to get the captain and one of the best going around to reaffirm and to the club that we’re still fairly confident around what we’re doing,” Easton said.
“We’re very bullish around the direction we’re going. We still want to challenge and compete.
“We’ve got some others that we’ve locked away as well.
“Pup is a really good announcement to get that momentum going, but our focus for the next four weeks is to try and give ourselves a chance to qualify.”
Seventh-placed Leopold faces Lara at Memorial Park this week, before meetings with Grovedale, North Shore and Bell Park to round out the season.
However, four wins are unlikely to be enough, unless the fifth-placed Dragons or sixth-placed South Barwon stumble over the last month.
X: @krockfootball
